Fire department pursues aerial truck

Design unveiled for 9/11 steel A design for a monument at the new Clear Lake Fire Department featuring the piece of steel salvaged from the World Trade Center has been unveiled. Firefighters who traveled to New York in May 2011 to bring back a piece of the steel shared their story with an audience at the Clear Lake Arts Center Saturday before revealing the finalized drawing for the memorial. Fire Chief Doug Meyers said elements from a dozen ideas submitted for the steel were combined for the final design. The monument will feature the steel atop a concrete pedestal wrapped in granite. Water will flow over the granite into a rock base. It will be stationed at the northeast corner of the

fire station.

An aerial ladder truck may be added to the Clear Lake Fire Department’s equipment arsenal. Monday, the City Council authorized Fire Chief Doug Meyers to issue a Request for Proposals to purchase a new 75-foot aerial ladder truck. The aerial ladder truck would replace the department’s Engine No. 3 pumper truck valued at roughly $25,000.

City Administrator Scott Flory explained the City has been allocating funding for several years now to a fire department vehicle reserve fund. The account, established to bank funds for the anticipated replacement of vehicles for the department, currently has a fund balance of $450,000. In addition, there is currently a balance of $200,000 remaining from the original $2.3 million general obligation fire station bond issue approved by voters in August 2010. Those funds could be used to assist with the purchase a new fire truck for the department since ballot language authorized the issuance of the bonds for the purposes of constructing, furnishing, and “equipping” a new fire station. It is anticipated that the cost of the proposed aerial ladder truck would be $675,000. Chief Meyers said an aerial ladder truck has been identified by the department as a need for sometime now. However, because of the size constraints of the former fire station building, it was not possible to acquire such a vehicle. The new station could house the large aerial ladder truck. Meyers said the department has been testing aerial ladder trucks provided by vendors the past two years and has identified the size and features which they believe will best meet the needs of the community. Significant changes in building sizes, methods of construction and materials are driving the need for an aerial ladder truck in the community, said Meyers. For example, fire temperatures today are generally 500 to 1,000 degrees hotter due to building materials used, he said. Homeowners could expect to see a drop in their insurance rates as a result of the addition of an aerial truck to the city’s fire department, he added. The aerial ladder truck would have an expected life span of 30 years. The Fire Chief will send out RFPs this - Read More Via e-Edition